German manufacturing expanded for a second consecutive month in October as companies increased output to cope with swelling order books.
The BMI/Reuters Purchasing Managers' Index pushed higher above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction to reach 51.2, its highest since February 2001, from 50.2 in September.
When the PMI broke above 50 in September, it marked the first expansion in German manufacturing in over a year. The component index for manufacturing output recorded a second month of expansion in October, rising for a fifth month to 53.3, its highest level since February 2001, from 51.5 the previous month.
The new orders index showed a fourth month of growth, with export orders posting their highest reading since November 2000.